‘I’d love to see it open again’ - Calls for swimming pool in Belmullet

Community members in Belmullet are preparing to make their voices heard at a critical public consultation tonight, as efforts intensify to secure a swimming pool and running track for the area.

Mayo County Council and Mayo Sports Partnership will host the workshop at 8pm this evening at Áras Inis Gluaire to gather input for a new five-year Local Sports Plan.

Tonight’s in-person workshop is the third of five to take place around the county and follows one in Achill on Saturday, Ballina on Monday night, Claremorris on Wednesday night and Castlebar on Thursday evening.

There have already been over 600 engagements with the Mayo Sport Partnerships online questionnaire.

Mayo Sports Partnership is also carrying out focus groups with harder to reach members of the community to get their input into the county sports plan.

Actively exploring options

Local campaigners are calling for a strong turnout to highlight the urgent need for improved sports facilities in the Erris area.
The consultation comes as the Broadhaven Bay Hotel actively explores options to reopen its swimming pool, which closed several years ago due to financial viability issues. The hotel is currently in discussions with politicians and Mayo County Council to find a way forward and potentially reopen the pool again.

“I’d love to see it open again,” Eamon Padden of the Broadhaven Bay Hotel told The Mayo News.

The pool's closure has had a significant impact on the local community. Rosaleen Lally, National Access Program Manager for the Irish Wheelchair Association, described how the loss of the facility affected wheelchair users who would have previously used the pool for therapy, as well as older members of the community.

The Sinn Féin local area representative said that the lack of a swimming pool in Erris is also having an impact on her family. Since the closure, her grandchild now faces a two-hour journey for swimming lessons.

"I don't think it's the responsibility of any private developer or hotel to provide a public pool for any area," Ms Lally said, emphasizing that local authorities should be providing public pools. She highlighted the broader lack of infrastructure in the community, including the absence of a running track for the local Athletic Club, and called for equal treatment for the Erris area.

A Facebook petition demanding a public pool last year gathered significant momentum, with over 1,000 signatures demonstrating the strength of community feeling on the issue.

The calls come amidst a separate campaign to get a NCT to be opened in the Erris peninsula. 

The meeting takes place at Áras Inis Gluaire in Belmullet at 8pm this evening.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme